Integrated circuits are commonly mounted in chip carriers which are bodies of insulating material having side surfaces to which conductors from the integrated circuit extend. Traditionally, terminal pads are provided on the side surfaces of the chip carrier body and contact is made with these pads to electrically connect the integrated circuit to conductors on a substrate, such as a ceramic substrate or a circuit board. Electrical connection is usually established with the terminal pads on the chip carrier by means of a chip carrier socket which comprises a socket body having a recess which receives the chip carrier and contact terminal in surrounding relationship to the recess so that when the chip carrier is placed in the recess, the contact terminals electrically engage the terminal pads of the chip carrier.
Notwithstanding the relatively small size of the chip carrier socket and the contact terminals in the socket, it is necessary that each terminal be capable of exerting contact force on a terminal pad in a chip carrier in order to establish good electrical connection between the contact terminal and the terminal pad on the chip carrier, particularly if the terminal pad is tin plated rather than gold plated. It should also be noted that chip carriers and chip carrier sockets are subject to the dimensional variations which all mass produced parts are subjected to. These dimensional variations result from manufacturing tolerances. However, even with dimensional variation, the design and performance requirements of the chip carrier assembly must be satisfied even in "worst case" conditions.
In order to insure that the terminals exert the appropriate force on the terminal pads, it is beneficial to have an insertion tool which is reliable and easy to use, and which supplies the force required to insure that an electrical connection is effected. The insertion tool must be configured to distribute the insertion force evenly over the surface of the chip carrier, in order to insure that a reliable electrical connection is provided between each contact terminal and respective terminal pad.
It is also useful to have an extraction tool which can be used to remove the chip carrier from the chip carrier socket. The extraction tool must be configured to permit the removal of the chip carrier without damaging the contact terminals or the terminal pads, thereby allowing the chip carrier and/or the chip carrier socket to be used again.
The need for an insertion tool and an extraction tool can be a significant cost to the users of the chip carrier and chip carrier sockets. Therefore, it would be beneficial to provide a tool which is easy to use, inexpensive to manufacture, and is capable of inserting the chip carrier into the chip carrier socket, as well as removing the chip carrier from the chip carrier socket.